A World Hidden Under my Nose
by angelaki13
Summary: (Crappy title and summary) Alfred had heard about ghouls, and thought of it to be just a scary rumour. He never imagined stumbling upon two of them fighting. (No pairing)
1. A New Life for Alfred

_**Hello, and welcome to this Ghoultalia shortfic. I started this somewhere in September, and felt like posting it here as well. I hope you like it!**_

"What are you doing in my territory, frog? Haven't I told you not to hunt here?" a voice was heard. 

"But Arthur, that's unfair!" another replied. "I have to feed my petit Mathieu as well!" 

"This territory is hunting grounds for my brothers and cousins. We are five people already. And unlike you, I'm concerned with keeping a low profile. I keep my killings unseen. You always seem to forget that, Francis." 

Alfred was trying his hardest to concentrate on the two blonds' interaction. The mention of killings made him want to charge at both, but he was held back by witnessing the two fight. But they didn't fight with fists or guns, but... Whatever it was, Alfred couldn't describe it, and looked scary and unnatural. 

_That's because they're not human._ A voice in his head whispered. _They are..._

"...Ghouls…" Alfred muttered, backtracking. He wanted nothing to do with the supernatural. 

And then he ran.

_Curse my bad luck constantly after me_ Alfred's brain repeated again and again, while 'Francis' had set out to attack him. Of course he wasn't going to let himself be killed, he was going to fight his hardest. After all, he was stronger than most people. 

And he did manage well with his fists alone, ghouls were rumoured to be indestructible with normal weapons. He suffered great damage, as well, and he was sure he was going to die, if it weren't for an earthquake happening that exact moment, causing an old building to collapse over Francis. 

Alfred collapsed on the cold ground, the last he heard was something along the lines of 'You're one lucky bastard...'

When Alfred regained consciousness, he realized he was in a white room. _A hospital..,_ he guessed, and soon enough, as if to prove his guess, a man in white came inside his room. 

Alfred was never one to pick up the details, but surely did that one time. His doctor seemed quite young, surely not older than thirty, with olive green eyes, clouded from all the gruesome things he saw in the hospital he worked. He had his brown hair tied into a short ponytail, and a few of his hair were striking out in a weird fashion, even in the history of curls, and much different than his cowlick. 

"I'm Dr. Karpusi" he introduced himself. "But you can call me Heracles. You were extremely lucky in all your bad luck for surviving." 

Alfred didn't have a chance to ask anything, interrupted by a knock on the door. 

"Come in." Heracles said, and the door opened, to reveal the other blond from last night, the one with the messy hair... If he remembered correctly, his name was... Arthur. 

"And this is Arthur. He'll be your caretaker for the next few days." he explained. 

"Caretaker...?" he asked, but he was cut. 

"Later. When we get home." Arthur replied, proceeding to attempt to drag him out of his bed. 

"You have to go with him, Alfred." the doctor urged. "And Arthur, about Francis..." 

"I know. I've taken care of his corpse." he replied, as Alfred followed him.

"I'm Dylan, and those are the twins, Patrick and Conor, and the one on the far corner of the room is Alistair." the brunet introduced himself and the other members of his new 'family'."Arthur's the youngest, but still, the most capable." he explained to Alfred as they sat on the dinner table, Arthur serving them, and leaving, claiming that he 'ate earlier'. 

Of course Alfred had to ask about why they were served human limbs. "Is this some form of joke?" 

"Wait, you mean, Art didn't tell you?" Conor asked, and Alfred shook his head. "We're ghouls, this is what we eat. And you need to eat, too, if you want to survive! It's a pain not eating, you can go insane!" he warned. 

"But I'm not...» he started, only to be interrupted by Alistair this time."A ghoul? Partly right, seeing how you are half and half. After all, that crazy doctor did transplant the Frenchie's organs so you could survive. So, once in a month or so, you'll need to eat." 

"Those people were sickly before Arthur killed them and brought them here for us. It's actually a merciful act." Dylan claimed, but Alfred wasn't so sure that he was honest. 

"And what about Arthur? When did he eat last time?" 

"Arthur's a monster on his own accord." Patrick replied. "Half of Francis is on you, and the other half on Arthur's stomach." 

Alfred felt he was going to puke.

A/N

No detailed kagune descriptions for this chapter. Mainly because a) when I wrote it was past midnight (like now) and b) Contrast technique.

Although I feel the need to mention. Arthur's kagune is Ukaku-type. First, I love Ukaku-types. They're my absolute favourite. Second, the wings fit England because Britannia Angel/Sweet Devil AU.

Second. I love Greece. He's like, my third favourite character. Or fourth. And I'm really sad he doesn't make any appearances in fics. So here you are.

If you're here for any pairings, this fic is STRICTLY PLATONIC because I'm the author and can do anything in my fics.

Also: Dylan=Wales, Alistair=Scotland, Conor= , Patrick=Ireland


	2. Misadventures of Arthur

Arthur could only curse under his breath, while he ran through the city's streets, in search for a particular half-ghoul he was supposed to take care of. And not only the git had denied training, but even dared to 'run away'. 

Couldn't he simply understand that Francis, and Arthur's family weren't the only ghouls around? 

Speaking of other ghouls, he picked up a scent. It was slightly familiar though. 

Arthur dashed to the spot. 

"I just told you, Gilbert, he smells like papa!" a little boy, not older than twelve, cried. Behind him stood two men, one with green eyes and auburn hair and the other with hair so blond that it looked silver, and scarlet eyes. 

"But he's not Francis..." the red-eyed, Gilbert, noted. "Maybe they spent the night together? Kesesesese~" he laughed. 

Alfred really regretted it now. Avoiding Arthur's 'training from Hell' that is. In the past two weeks, it was only three times he gave a shot at training. Twice with Arthur and one with Alistair. 

Arthur was trying to provoke him, force him to draw out his Kagune (it was Dylan who theorized that it was most likely the same as Francis), but Alfred resorted to his physical strength. However, it was in vain. Arthur might have not drawn out his own Kagune, but, much like Alfred had superior strength -even for a ghoul's standards- Arthur was extremely flexible and mobile. 

He couldn't land a single hit. 

He asked Alistair about it, getting the confusing reply of "Arthur knows his strengths and weaknesses well, and he's not willing to show you yet how his Kagune works. Powerful it sure is, but leaves certain openings." and suggested he trained him instead. 

Needless to say, it was Alfred's second mistake. Alistair had shown no mercy. In fact, it made him think that if he wasn't a half-ghoul, he was going to be dead already. 

And he was now going to die. 

"Don't you think you had enough messing with these kids, you two?" 

Alfred knew that voice, and finally dared to look in front of him. 

It was Arthur. 

"Alfred." Arthur had turned his gaze to him. "Take that boy and go home. It's an order." 

Alfred took Matthew's hand and disappeared. 

Arthur turned his full attention to the two men. 

"Gilbert. Antonio. I knew I smelled something rotten." he grimaced. 

"We're looking for Francis, so if you please, Arthur." Gilbert said, with an arrogant tone. 

"But of course, why would anyone want to lead you to a wild goose chase?" Arthur's words were filled with the sarcasm he was noted for.

"So, where is he?" both asked again. 

"He's dead." he replied, his voice completely void of emotion. 

"We need to avenge his death!" the Spaniard yelled. "Did you know who did it?" 

"Of course I know who did it." Arthur paused for dramatical effect. "It was me. And if I'm allowed to make any comments on it, your _friend_ tasted even more disgustingly than others." 

Antonio didn't need another word; instead, he let his anger consume him. His Kagune, a pair of horns resembling that of a bull, erupted from his forehead, as he charged into Arthur, who remained there until the very last moment. 

Arthur had jumped high, resulting to Antonio hitting his head on the wall. 

Arthur returned to the ground, slowly, with the help of his own Kagune, but remaining only inches above the ground. 

There it was, a majestic, scarlet wing, shaped like those of the ancient rulers of myth and sky, the dragons. Even if it was with no pair, he could maintain balance. 

The fight resumed. Even though Antonio had a technical advantage, he didn't seem to be using it to its fullest, letting Arthur's verbal taunts and insults get to him and make him lose his focus. 

Gilbert, of course, didn't want to see his friend get hurt, or worse, having to witness Toni die. He wasn't a coward, God forbid, but he simply had to save his friend. After the English ghoul had revealed that he had, not only killed one of his friends (Francis and Toni was the only ones who thought of as ones, anyways), but had also fed on him... That act was disgusting, even to his eyes. Not to mention he knew what was to become of ghouls that turned on cannibalism. They ended up losing themselves completely and become insane. 

And insane equals more dangerous. 

Gilbert drew a blade to strike Arthur behind his back. 

"Not very honorable of you, Sir Knight~" Arthur teased, making Gilbert stop dead in his tracks. 

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Arthur continued. "We wouldn't want anything to happen to your little brother now, would we?" 

"What do you know?" the albino demanded to know. "Who told you?" 

Arthur made a leap and stood facing both. "Well, word gets around... And dearest little Feli can't seem to be able to keep his mouth shut~ About his human lover, mostly, who, if I'm not mistaken, is your younger brother, right, Gilbert?" 

"Scheiße" the self-proclaimed Prussian muttered. 

"Don't get me wrong, it's not that I meet often with your brother or his lover. We just have a common contact, and I hear some things from him." 

Gilbert gritted his teeth. "We're going for now. But you don't want me to hear you've harmed my brother." 

Arthur laughed. "I wouldn't want my own family to be harmed now, would I, sir Knight." 

"But, Gil..." the Spaniard tried to argue. 

"Not today, Toni." he tried to reassure his remaining friend. "As for you, Kirkland, I'll be watching you." 

As they went further away, Arthur allowed himself to sigh with relief. Using his Kagune always drained his stamina, not to mention he was running before it. Exhaustion finally showed in his features. It'd be better if he went home. 

"Arthur! That was amazing!" he heard, while being assaulted by the taller American. 

"Alfred, please!" Arthur yelled. "I'm tired." 

"I thought your fight was really epic, and you had the upper hand, and you say you're tired?" 

Arthur tried to explain, only for Matthew to reply to him. "Um, Alfred... You see, Toni and Gil are really good fighters... And Gil has, you know, killed ghouls before…" he then turned his gaze to the older ghoul. "I apologize if I caused you any inconvenience…" 

"It was me to cause trouble to you, Matthew, was it?" at the younger's nod, Arthur continued. "Would you like to come and live with my family? My brothers can be strange, but they can be nice... Alfred's there, too. Maybe you can keep company to each other, since you're closer to age." 

"I have nowhere to go now Francis is gone..." he muttered, and then faced the blond again. "Yes, thank you." 

Arthur smiled at both. "Let's go home."

Second chapter. No, I'll upload all chapters in one night. You can't stop me. No one can.

Ahem. This is the point that I remind you this is an AU and many elements are different than in Tokyo Ghoul. Those being two sub-types of Kagune, as I refer to them.

Blade-type behaves like Rinkaku-types in terms of strengths and weaknesses. Alfred and Francis are Blade-types. In their case, it much resembles the Assassin's Blade from the Assassin's Creed games.

Second comes the Horn-type, which behaves like Koukaku-type. Like Spain, and though not mentioned, Wales possesses a Horn-type Kagune. I feel I should mention, Scotland has a Bikaku-type Kagune.

Fun fact: Arthur's, Wales' and Scotland's Kagune resemble a dragon's wing, horns, and tail.

The Italy brothers are ghouls. The German brothers are 'monster hunters'. Europe's ghoul population may be low, but there are other creatures around.


	3. A Past Best Forgotten

To say Alfred was upset wasn't right. The worry was eating him from the inside. It was simply upsetting at first, when Arthur had left without a word, and he was told the news by Patrick, always cheerful and recommending to Alfred not to give much thought to it. Arthur had left for an important business trip, and he'd be back in a few days.

But a whole week had passed already, and no sign of Arthur.

Alfred had enough. That evening, he gathered the Kirkland siblings (and Matthew, of course) demanding answers.

"There are things you don't want to know." Dylan warned him. That stoic expression reminded him his mother, always doing what she thought best.

"Well, the little git thinks he wants to know, let's see how much he likes that story." Alistair countered. "About our little brother."

_We're all from different mothers, but I suppose you figured that out, right? I mean, you're not as stupid as you look… Anyways. Each one has a different mother. Except the twins, of course. Our father… Well, let's say that he wasn't an example of virtue. He bedded many women, perhaps a different one every other night. Three sired his sons. Eire Connor, Lily Black, and Christa Evans. Eire was Patrick and Adam's mother, Christa was Dylan's, and Lily was my mother._

"What about Arthur's?"

_I'm getting there. Don't be hasty._

"Okay."

_We were raised in that place. The four of us together, with our mothers. It's beyond me why they did it. Maybe they thought it safer for us. Maybe they aimed high to get advantage of his influence. Maybe they __**liked **__it being with a bastard like him._

Allistor's words were bitter and harsh. Even Alfred, who could be completely dense from time to time, could tell that he hated his father. And maybe his mother on some degree.

Dylan cleared his throat, and continued.

_It was my mother that found Arthur, and completely on accident. It wasn't pleasant, neither pleasing to the eye or the heart._

_A small boy that looked no more than a year old, his straw blond hair covered with gore and dried blood, messy and touching his frail shoulders. Naked, and his body in a condition similar to his hair. And close to him was the body of his mother, completely mutilated, with pieces of flesh and whole organs missing._

_My mother felt pity of the boy, and did anything in her power to adopt him, despite our father refusing. He claimed that, the little boy, human as he was, would end up being eaten by us._

_In fact, it was the exact opposite happened. Arthur was the one to attack us. Everyone thought it was some sort of survival instinct. Our father asked mother if she knew anything about his mother. She said the boy was found next to a mutilated woman. She described her as young, with a dark shade of blond for hair and ocean blue eyes._

'_Britt!' our father had exclaimed. I remember him calling that name well. She was one of those women he slept with from time to time, then? That's what I thought. I was quite hurt, to be honest._

_You understand what happened at Arthur's birth, right? Britt died while trying to bring her boy to the world alone, but didn't manage it. She died. In a command of instinct, Arthur did the only thing he could. He opened Britt from the inside, searching desperately for air, biting the flesh that stood in his path. Until the day he was found, and whenever he felt hunger, he fed on his mother's corpse._

"That's disgusting!" Alfred cut Dylan's story.

Adam laughed. "For human standards, and for someone who was no idea of what it's like when instinct takes over, sure."

"Meaning?"

It was Matthew who sighed, and explained. "It happens in the nature, Alfred. Snakes eat their mother from the inside. It's all because of instinct. They need to breathe, and they need to feed. These are basic instincts, for everyone, be it animals, humans, or ghouls."

"See? This lad here gets it!" Patrick laughed, ruffling Matthew's hair.

Adam decided it was his turn to continue.

_It took years for Arthur to treat us less hostile, starting developing a sibling relationship. But that didn't change Arthur's appetite, of course. Even if human flesh tasted better, he had become accustomed to eating ghouls. He even went out hunting at night in secret! You can imagine how enraged our father was when he found out. He claimed that Arthur's choices put everyone in danger. _

_And Arthur was sixteen by that time, I think. And being a teen, he had broken almost every single of father's rules. He went on a public school, along with other humans, unlike us, who were homeschooled. He had human friends, well, close enough to be friends. He hunted once every three weeks exactly, he was precise at that. He always hunted ghouls. And he always made it seem like a murder. Teenagers do that a lot. Breaking the rules their parents set for them, that is._

"Well, normal kids don't commit murders." Alfred commented.

"We hadn't our first kill before thirteen." Alistair replied, slightly aggravated. "Arthur had set that schedule when he was nine. We trained against each other, but Arthur was the one who truly battled. Who really hunted. He was the one who actually _lived. _I was so jealous of that. We all were."

"Well, back to the story!" Patrick commented, deciding to take over his twin's narration.

_Arthur had challenged our father in battle. You know, like lions do. Winner gets all sort of thing. If father won, he'd had the right to do anything he wanted, even having Arthur killed, and Arthur could do nothing about it. If Arthur won, he'd have the right to kill father, even eat him. But most importantly, he was to become the new lord of the family, and command the rest of us, our mothers, set his own rules over us, everything._

_Father laughed at what thought was foolish, and accepted. He was more experienced in battle, but Arthur had a great disadvantage: his kagune. I'm sure you know it already, Arthur's kagune is Ukaku-type; wing. It wasn't simply a type disadvantage. Arthur had a single wing for his weapon instead of a pair._

_You can imagine father's surprise when he saw Arthur levitating, using that one wing to fly, and actually manage it. I think we secretly wished for Arthur to win. Show him that he was wrong on his rules he forced on us. Arthur used another powerful weapon he possessed: his wit. He taunted father, laughed at him. Father was always easy to piss off. Without realizing it, he used stronger attacks, which Arthur easily and gracefully avoided, laughing at how pathetic he seemed. It was a fierce battle. At one point, we could tell Arthur was exhausted._

'_Not so mighty now, are you?' he laughed, ready for dealing the finishing blow._

_But his attack was forced to a stop, only a few centimeters away from him. Father was confused, Arthur smirked. And we could see it._

_Arthur's other wing. Not fully developed, frail as a thin glass frame, but strong enough to stop a few attacks like that one. His second weapon we had no idea he had. A weapon we thought it was only a myth, nothing more._

_A kakuja._

'_I guess cat's out of the bag now' Arthur spoke, and used that element of surprise to extend his hand towards our father and rip out his heart._

_As a proof of dominance over the other, Arthur tasted his heart, dropping it after that first bite. 'Vile.' He had muttered. 'If ghouls are supposed to taste bad, you're worse than any I ever had, or ever will.' He added. 'As for what happens to you, I'll let your family decide. Correction: _my _family.' He laughed in hysterics after that, and withdrew himself in his room. He only emerged three days later, calm and seemingly sane. Mother had implored him to consume father completely. Arthur accepted._

_When Arthur became nineteen, we came here. But he returned there on occasion, something like twice a year._

Alfred was left speechless. "But Arthur had said…..!"

"Kakuja ghouls are unstable. And that makes them dangerous." Dylan completed. "It's not that Arthur is 100% sane, either. Sometimes, he loses himself."

"But hey!" Adam cheered. "We're family, that's what family is for!"

Matthew was standing by the window, observing the street. "There's something happening there."

Everyone ran by the window. There was a fight. One against many. And normally, Alistair wouldn't mind, unless it was someone he cared about.

The word came out without even realizing.

"_Arthur!_"

Alfred and Matthew felt like they were shot back in that night when Arthur had killed his father. But unlike that time, there were so many to fight against him, but he was a more experienced fighter than he was back then.

Matthew felt terrified of Arthur. Francis had always called him 'the English demon' but he could never understand why, even after Arthur became his caretaker. Until tonight.

Alfred, on contrary, was in awe. His hair was covered in blood and gore. His clothes, black as the night, seemed untouched. With a pair of wings erupting of his back, one seemingly torn from a glass angel sculpture, the other belonging to a beast of myth, a sadistic smirk on his face. He was just like a warrior angel. Or even better, a fallen one.

And for those who were sent against him, tonight Arthur had become their Devil.


End file.
